Crime Stoppers of Houston is the most effective unit in the nation, according to Katherine Cabaniss, Executive Director of the private non-profit crime fighting organization.
Speaking at a recent Rotary meeting in Highlands, she received the crime prevention and apprehension activities of the group. She said that the tip phone number, 713-222-TIPS gets 2500 calls a month, and of these 500 are good leads that result in at least 50 arrests.
She emphasized that all tips are anonymous. When someone calls in with a tip, they are given a code number, and asked to call back to see if their tip resulted in an arrest. If it did, they are directed to a bank to receive a reward, which may be as much as $5000 and paid in cash. They do not have to appear in court, because most arrests have additional circumstances that are used in court instead.
All of the money to run the organization and provide rewards is donated or grants. Donors get a tax break, because Crime Stoppers is a 501c3 organization.
Cabaniss said it is important to catch professional criminals, because they always repeat. Even when they are committing one crime, they are planning more. She is a former prosecuting attorney, so she has much experience in this matter.
Last year 825 felons were prosecuted because of Crime Stoppers tips, and a total of $790,000 was paid in cash rewards. Since 1981, because of Crime Stoppers, 21,000 felons have been arrested, 843 murders solved, 3,600 robberies solved, 1,092 burglaries solved, and $7.4 million paid in cash rewards.
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